Gleeson wants reform after Mokbel report

The licensing of commission agents is one of several reforms that need to be addressed nationally by racing authorities, Racing Victoria's chief steward Des Gleeson says.

A report in The Age on Saturday said crime boss Tony Mokbel was able to launder millions of dollars by using several commission agents who freely bet on behalf of Mokbel and his associates for almost a decade.

The report also named high-profile jockey Jim Cassidy as having received money from Mokbel for tips on horses he rode.

Cassidy would not comment on the story on Saturday.

Gleeson said he had been pushing for commission agents to be licensed for several years in Victoria so stewards could oversee who was actually responsible for the bets.

"Licensing commission agents is one thing we have been discussing for several years, but it needs to be on a national basis," Gleeson said.

"You can't just license it in one state otherwise they will operate in others.

"There needs to be legislative changes to allow us to license them.

"That's something being looked at by the national chairmen of stewards and the racing ministers and the Australian Racing Board is fully aware of our concerns.

"That goes in with race fields legislation, we also need to have access to all betting. We do in Victoria but other states don't, so it's a complex issue there.

"The race fields legislation in Victoria means we do have access to all betting whether it be bookmakers, corporate bookmakers or parimutuel."

Gleeson said another important issue was that of cooperation between the stewards and police in relation to the passing on of information regarding inappropriate relationships between criminals and jockeys or trainers.

"We need to have information like that. If the police have it somehow we need to have a system in place where that information is passed on to the racing authorities so that we can deal with anybody if there is a breach of the rules of racing," Gleeson said.

"And protect the integrity of racing.

"We haven't got access to the information that the police have. They can't forward it to us. They can only pass it on to law enforcement agencies."

While Mokbel's alleged racing activities went unchecked because stewards were limited by a lack of powers and had little support from police, Gleeson said the relationship with police was much better since 2005.

"We have a really good relationship with (the) Purana (Taskforce)," Gleeson said.

"The Pillar Of Hercules scenario showed how information sharing can be of benefit."

The racehorse Pillar Of Hercules was the subject of an ownership dispute last spring when police suspected the 75 per cent share registered to Irene Meletsis was in fact owned by Mokbel's brother Horty who was awaiting trial on drug trafficking charges.

Pillar Of Hercules was subsequently sold at pubic auction for $1.8 million.

Racing NSW chief steward Ray Murrihy said his panel also did not have access to any information held by police.

"We would be interested in any evidence that was made available to us," he said.

aap 14 Jun 2008

This is only the tip of the iceberg, as it only relates to Mockbel being caught. There are many more instances where these sorts of illegal and criminal dealings take place, BUT are kept out of the news deliberately. Casinos and betting agencies are the biggest sources of money laundering around, and they are supported by each and every government in power.

Vietnam jails Australian over drugs

An Australian man has been jailed in Vietnam for 22 years after he was found guilty of storing and trafficking ecstasy tablets, state media says.

Nguyen Tuan Khanh, 49, an Australian of Vietnamese origin, and six Vietnamese were charged and convicted at a court in Ho Chi Minh City on Friday, the Vietnam News said.

The six accomplices were handed sentences of between seven and 18 years in prison, the English language daily said.

According to the court verdict, the group supplied bars and dance clubs in the former city of Saigon with 3,700 amphetamine pills and more than 45 grams of ketamine from October 2006 to March 2007, the paper said.

In a separate incident, police arrested three Australian women, all of Vietnamese origin, for alleged drug trafficking on Wednesday and Thursday, reports said.

Vietnam has jailed several Australians for trafficking over the past few years.

The country hands down the death penalty to anyone caught with more than 600 grams of heroin or 20 kilograms of opium.

This is all very good, BUT why do not the authorities go after the PRODUCERS ??? !!! It is NOT difficult to find the manufacturers or the PLANTATIONS, it's just that too many people, too HIGH UP are involved. In reality only the small fish are only caught.

Man denied bail over fatal hit-and-run

A man who has been refused bail over charges relating to a hit and run which propelled a 16-year-old father 45 metres to his death, has a litany of serious driving convictions to his name, a Sydney court has been told.

Ismail Khodr, 32, from Yagoona in Sydney's south-west, handed himself into police on Friday afternoon over the death of Jerry Ngaronoa.

He has been charged with failing to stop and render assistance and driving while disqualified.

Mr Ngaronoa was killed when hit by a car after running onto the Hume Highway at Casula about 12.45am (AEST) on Thursday.

Khodr applied for bail at Parramatta bail court on Saturday but it was refused by Magistrate Craig Thompson.

A statement of facts tendered to the court by police said Mr Ngaronoa had argued with Sincerely Karaitiana-Turnbull, the 15-year-old mother of his five-month-old daughter Breeze and left their nearby home in only a blanket.

He then laid down in the middle of three southbound lanes on the Hume Highway, the facts read.

He got up to punch a car that had slowed past him, witnesses report.

About 12.45am a charcoal coloured Holden Commodore driven by Khodr hit Mr Ngaronoa, the facts said.

"The deceased was propelled approximately 45 metres causing multiple fatal injuries," they said.

Khodr told police he "run over an object" and after 400 metres he went back to see what he was.

But when he saw the police gathered at the scene he "just panicked and took off".

Khodr, who was driving his ex-girlfriend's car at the time, has been disqualified from driving since being convicted of driving vehicle reckless/furiously in March 2006.

He also has a number of other driving convictions, breaches of bail and assault charges and operates under 21 different aliases.

He has served four years over an incident when he drove a car at someone, the facts read.

Police prosecutor Sergeant Andrew Pike told the court Khodr should not be released because he was on breach of bail when the accident happened.

"We're not trying to sensationalise this matter, it's a tragedy, but it could be summed up in one comment: he should never have been driving," Sergeant Pike told the court.

"If he was following court orders and not driving, the young man would still be alive."

Khodr's lawyer Robert Tricca made a statement on behalf of his client and his family, who were in court, saying they were distraught over the "tragic accident".

However, Mr Thompson refused Khodr's bail application saying: "I believe the likelihood of further offences, particularly of driving while disqualified, is a possibility."

Khodr sat with his head in his hands throughout proceeding and was crying when he was led away from the dock.

He was remanded in custody to the Liverpool Local Court on June 25.

ninemsn 14 Jun 2008

Pure TpT, operating under 21 aliases !!! Why?? the law should throw away the key, BUT in typical fashion they will say he can be rehabilitated. These type of people can't. Trust our law to fail us AGAIN. But then agan it TpT that killed another TpT, so it's nature taking care of itself. Nothing to worry about.

Kate Moss banned from bringing friends into toilet cubicle

Kate Moss chucked one bigtime when she wasn't allowed to bring three friends into a toilet cubicle at a New York nightclub recently.

In town to host an Agent Provocateur event at the club, Kate was pissed when staff refused to let her and her friends enter a toilet cubicle, as it broke their one-person 'toilet occupancy' rule.

Kate screeched that she was hosting the event and should be given the privilege, but had no luck, storming back to the party in a fury.

Guess she didn't need to pee that badly...

The best part is the user comments :

kate : what a tragic coke junkie.

Poor Kate.... : Awww poor kate... She's just to scared to snort coke by herself haha

tell me why?!...

she's nothing but junkie scum honestly what did you expect?! does anyone actually have to go to the bathroom in such a large number just to actually go to the bahroom? no..unless your doing something else... please tell me why she is given so much attention? she's setting a bad example for teens everywhere do cocaine end up famous although your scarily unattractive

http://celebrities.ninemsn.com.au/blog.aspx?blogentryid=142601&showcomments=true

Nothing more and nothing less than PURE and UNADULTERATED TRASH !!

The biggest problem is they they are on a pedestal for all to see.

New airport scanners see through clothes

Security scanners which can see through passengers' clothing and reveal details of their body underneath are being installed in 10 US airports, the US Transportation Security Administration says.

A random selection of travellers getting ready to board airplanes in Washington, New York's Kennedy, Los Angeles and other key hubs will be shut in the glass booths while a three-dimensional image is made of their body beneath their clothes.

The booths close around the passenger and emit "millimetre waves" that go through cloth to identify metal, plastics, ceramics, chemical materials and explosives, according to the TSA.

While it allows the security screeners - looking at the images in a separate room - to clearly see the passenger's sexual organs as well as other details of their bodies, the passenger's face is blurred, TSA said in a statement on its website.

The scan only takes seconds and is to replace the physical pat-downs of people that is currently widespread in airports.

TSA began introducing the body scanners in airports in April, first in the Phoenix, Arizona terminal.

The installation is picking up this month, with machines in place or planned for airports in Washington (Reagan National and Baltimore-Washington International), Dallas, Las Vegas, Albuquerque, Miami and Detroit.

But the new machines have provoked worries among passengers and rights activists.

"People have no idea how graphic the images are," Barry Steinhardt, director of the technology and liberty program at the American Civil Liberties Union, told AFP.

The ACLU said in a statement that passengers expecting privacy underneath their clothing "should not be required to display highly personal details of their bodies such as evidence of mastectomies, colostomy appliances, penile implants, catheter tubes and the size of their breasts or genitals as a pre-requisite to boarding a plane."

Besides masking their faces, the TSA says on its website, the images made "will not be printed stored or transmitted".

"Once the transportation security officer has viewed the image and resolved anomalies, the image is erased from the screen permanently. The officer is unable to print, export, store or transmit the image."

Lara Uselding, a TSA spokeswoman, added that passengers are not obliged to accept the new machines.

"The passengers can choose between the body imaging and the pat-down," she told AFP.

TSA foresees 30 of the machines installed across the country by the end of 2008. In Europe, Amsterdam's Schipol airport is already using the scanners.

11 Jun 2008

Despite the promise of images not being stored or transmitted, they WILL be available on the internet. Don't forget this is all in the name to stamp out terrorism. Our civil liberties WILL be lost to the terrorists in power, for our own protection of course. This WILL also happen in Australia.

Pirates attack WA-bound cattle (goyim) carrier

Pirates in speedboats have attacked a cattle transport ship bound for Western Australia in Indonesian waters, authorities say.

The 4,600 tonne MV Hereford Express, crewed by 22 Filipinos, was heading from a Philippines island to Broome to pick up cattle when it was fired on south of Mindanao Island last Saturday morning.

Lieutenant Armando Balilo, of the Philippines Coastguard, said the attack by pirates in four speedboats lasted two hours but no one on board was injured.

"The vessel did not stop and tried to manoeuvre to escape the attack by changing course to the north-west, away from the island," Lt Balilo told AAP.

He said the vessel returned to port at Mindanao's General Santos City to formally report the attack and for repairs to its bridge, which was badly damaged by the shellfire.

Lt Balilo said he understood the attack was the first by pirates in that area and the first such assault on a livestock transport ship.

The MV Hereford Express had left General Santos City for Broome on Friday evening and was attacked at 7.45am (local time) on Saturday, about 70 nautical miles south of Balut Island.

"Attacks usually happen in the Malacca Strait, I have not heard of it happening in that particular area before," Lt Balilo said.

Broome Port Authority chief executive officer Vic Justice said he got a call from the Philippine Coast Guard shortly after the incident was reported, saying the ship had been attacked and would not be arriving as scheduled later this week.

He said the MV Hereford was one of three livestock transport vessels involved in trade between The Philippines and Broome, Wyndham and Darwin.

Pirate attacks occurred up to three times a week in the Malacca Strait between Indonesia and Singapore, he said, but he had not heard of a cattle ship being attacked before.

"What this will do is serve as a warning to ships to show extra vigilance when they're going through these stretches of water," Mr Justice told AAP.

"It's also a warning to a lot of people who go off on cruising yachts through the Indonesian archipelago that they must be wary of attack.

"Every week there are two to three incidents ranging from being suspicious to acts of piracy.

"It appears the crew aboard the MV Hereford were very lucky.

"If it was the same captain and crew who usually come here, they are lovely people and we enjoy having them here in the port of Broome.

"We were very pleased that none of our friends were injured."

ninemsn 11 Jun 2008.

So why do not the purveyors of goodness and enforcers of Global Righteousness, send their entire fleet to this terror hotspot on the planet and rid the innocent people of this vermin?

Forgot there is no Oil there !!!

Prince Charles pays off royal debt 350 years late

Heir to the throne Prince Charles paid off a family debt incurred more than 350 years ago — but was spared the accumulated interest that could have run into tens of thousands of pounds.

Charles handed over $1181 which King Charles II failed to pay to the Clothiers Company in Worcester, central England, in 1651.

The king had commissioned uniforms for his troops to fight the republican forces of Oliver Cromwell at the Battle of Worcester the same year.

The modern-day Charles handed over the cash on a visit to the former headquarters of the royalist troops in the Faithful City, so-called because it remained loyal to his ancestor during the English Civil War.

"It seems that members of the Clothiers Company have a long memory," he said. "By long I mean nearly 400 years. Nevertheless, as a gesture of good will I come today prepared to honour this debt of 453 pounds and three shillings.

"I suspect that it will not have escaped your notice, however, I am resisting the immense temptation to pay the debt with full interest. I was not born yesterday."

The high commissioner of the Clothiers Company, Philip Sawyer, accepted the money and gave the future king a receipt.

If interest was taken into account, 453 pounds and three shillings in 1651 would have been worth approximately $98,100 in 2007, the BBC website said, citing the Institute for the Measurement of Worth.

$98,100 in 2007, the BBC website said, citing the Institute for the Measurement of Worth.

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11 Jun 2008

What a JOKE that is !!!!, but then again you would not expect anything LESS from a blue blood, would you?

Gillard unhappy about Della Bosca issue

Acting Prime Minister Julia Gillard says she is not happy with how the Iguanas restaurant dispute has played out.

Ms Gillard says the facts are still in dispute after federal MP Belinda Neal on Tuesday denied she or her husband, NSW Education Minister John Della Bosca, behaved inappropriately at Iguanas Waterfront Bar at Gosford on the NSW Central Coast on Friday night.

"I made it clear yesterday that I'm not happy about any of this, as members of parliament whenever you're out in public, and it doesn't matter whether you think you're there for a public event or a private event, the reality is you're representing the parliament," Ms Gillard told Macquarie Radio.

"All of us have to remember that, and I think this is now a hotly disputed matter where the facts are very unclear.

"We've got statutory declarations on all sides with all different versions, but I think it does stand as a reminder to all of us that there's a standard that the Australian public expects us to live up whenever we're out in public."

She stopped short of calling on Ms Neal to explain her actions.

"Ms Neal has made public statements about what she says happened on that night," Ms Gillard said.

"She obviously rejects the allegations that have been made about her conduct on that night.

"What I would say to Belinda, what I would say to any member of the team, is that people have to make sure that they're acquitting a good standard when they're in the public domain."

It has emerged that MP Belinda Neal was sent off from a soccer match for repeatedly kicking a rival.

11 Jun 2008

Behaving like Trailer park Trash, and still above the law and all its consequences. Denial is everything.

Comments regarded as discriminatory against the common folk.

Toyota Camry on cards without subsidies

Toyota would have gone ahead and built a hybrid version of its Camry sedan in Australia even without the promise of $70 million in government subsidies, a newspaper says.

The Japanese carmaker said the announcement of the taxpayer-funded subsidies by the federal and Victorian governments only brought the plans forward, The Australian newspaper reports.

"It would have happened regardless and we wouldn't bring it to market unless we're going to make money," Toyota Australia spokesman Mike Breen said.

"It's always nice to have support but it comes back to a business decision."

Toyota has been explicit about its wish to produce a hybrid version of the Camry in Australia since the model went on sale in Japan two years ago.

In Nagoya on Tuesday, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd pledged $35 million from the new Green Car Innovation Fund as an incentive to assemble the cars at the Altona factory in Victoria, which Victorian Premier John Brumby matched with a further $35 million.

11 Jun 2008

The government is extremely quick to throw away BIG MONEY at the corporate fish, even though they DO NOT NEED it, as admitted by Toyota in this case, BUT the government closes down public schools, as initiated by the Kennett Government of Victoria, as the education of the public is NOT NECESSARY, and closure of public hospital beds.

Toyota is one of the World's richest motor vehicle manufacturing company, and is Australia's largest car manufacturer.

Sudoku-playing jurors end drug trial

A million dollar Sydney drugs trial has been aborted after it was found jurors were playing the puzzle game sudoku while evidence was being given.

Sydney District Court Judge Peter Zahra on Tuesday aborted the trial of two men facing a possible life sentence on drugs conspiracy charges.

He discharged the jury in the trial which had been running for 66 days over the past four months and had cost taxpayers an estimated $1 million.

The jury foreperson admitted to the judge that four to five jurors were playing puzzle games for up to half the time the trial had been going.

"Yes, it helps me keep my mind busy paying more attention. Some of the evidence is rather drawn out and I find it difficult to maintain my attention the whole time and that doesn't distract me too much from proceedings," the jury foreperson said after being questioned by the judge on Tuesday.

Robyn Hakelis, a lawyer for one of the defendants, alerted the judge to the puzzle playing.

She said everyone was upset another trial would have to be held.

"I think it's disappointing more than anything that in a trial the evidence would not have been listened to and jurors are sort of the judges of the facts and it's very disappointing they weren't giving our clients a fair trial," Ms Hakelis told AAP.

The judge was alerted after it was observed the jurors were writing vertically, rather than horizontally. It had been assumed they were taking notes.

Ms Hakelis said both defendants noticed the jurors playing sudoku while they each gave evidence.

"We were informed early on Monday of last week that that's what was happening in the jury box and then subsequent to that I made observation, sort of took note to watch what was happening," she said.

"I noticed they were writing in all different directions and straight away I thought `they're not taking notes like we thought they were'.

"Everyone assumed they were taking notes."

Jurors in the trial are anonymous and no action can be taken against them for the puzzle playing.

A new trial is expected to begin in a few weeks after a new jury is empanelled.

ninemsn 10 Jun 2008

It gets better, Australia wants to make heros of criminals, and erect statues in their name. WTF?
Looks like it's hard to weed out the past, isn't it? Link to post to come soon

Loud music risk mostly unheard: survey

Hearing specialists are urging Australians who listen to music through headphones to turn down the volume or risk causing irreparable hearing damage.

The warning follows the results of a federal government survey showing more than two-thirds of Australians listen to music through headphones, with 60 per cent of them playing it at an unsafe volume.

Australian Hearing, a federal government agency, surveyed 1,000 people from around the nation about hearing as part of a new report - Is Australia Listening? Attitudes To Hearing Loss.

The results have "worrying implications", Australian Hearing spokesman Professor Harvey Dillon said.

"The most significant single cause of hearing loss in Australia is exposure to loud noise," Prof Dillon said in a statement.

"People will suffer long-term hearing problems if they are exposed to loud noise for extended periods of time."

The report shows almost half of people aged between 18 and 34 go to noisy venues and listen to loud music through headphones at least once a week.

"We encourage people to consider their hearing when listening to music through headphones or at clubs and concerts," Prof Dillon said.

"Many young people may find they suffer from hearing loss later in life, and once their hearing is damaged, it cannot be restored."

The survey found that 70 per cent of young (18 to 24) people also suffer from tinnitus (ringing in the ears) at some time.

While wearing headphones the volume should be at a level which allows the listener to hear a person talk without shouting while at arm's length away, Australian Hearings ambassador John D'Arcy said.

"Consider wearing ear muffs or ear plugs if you are exposed to loud machinery or industrial noise and make sure you know how to fit the ear plugs properly," Dr D'Arcy said in the joint statement.

The same survey has uncovered widespread negative stigma about the use of hearing devices, with many associating them with terms such as "old", "deaf", "unsightly" and "ugly".

However hearing specialists are promoting new hearing device technology which boasts sleek designs which "look more like fashion accessories".

ninemsn 10 Jun 2008

Diet Coke additive to stay

COCA-COLA Australia has no plans to phase out a controversial additive in its drinks, despite moves in Britain to remove it.

Sodium benzoate has been linked to damage to DNA and hyperactivity in children, and is used as a preservative in Diet Coke in Australia.

Coca-Cola in Britain said it had begun withdrawing the additive from Diet Coke in January in response to consumer demand for more natural products.

Sodium benzoate is used to stop fizzy drinks going mouldy.

It is found naturally in some fruits, including bananas, but is used in greater strengths in the soft drink industry.

A statement from Coca-Cola revealed there were no plans to change the formulation of the popular drink in Australia.

"The use of food additives is strictly regulated under Australian law," it stated.

"All of the ingredients used in products of The Coca-Cola Company are safe and approved for use by the Food Standards Australia New Zealand."

A survey by FSANZ in 2006 found levels of benzene and sodium benzoate in soft drinks were well below World Health Organisation guidelines for levels in drinking water.

Even so, they have been working with the food industry to reduce the level of benzene in drinks.

Herald Sun 27 May 2008

Lets get this straight : The added chemical is being withdrawn from Britain's drink,

whilst THE SAME product is kept in the drink for Australians.

The Food Administration in Australia BLATANTLY LIES, and says that there is NOTHING wrong with the additive.

So WHY is it being withdrawn from Britain's product ??? !!!

Australia, STILL a Convict nation to be poisoned.

Coca-Cola purchases water from the Government at $1.40 per 1,000,000 litres, whilst the general public pay 570 times more for Water.

It is therefore in the BEST interest of the Government NOT to 'upset' the GIANT multinational

McDonalds - Enough to make you sick

There is no doubt that over 50% of Australians are overweight or obese, yet there is NO shortage of people lining up in front of Fast Food stores like McDonald's.

McDonald's food has a high calorific, but a very low nutritional value. The food, quite simply put is designed to make you sick. It is food for the common simple folk, with little or no regards to their health.

It is a shame that people willing purchase these unhealthy food stuffs in this day and age, and mothers call it a 'treat' to their children, to poison them with this nutritionless food.